It's still to early to say, but I expect it to be among the best options in the $.0 - $2 price bracket, possibly even THE best option in that price range...

Don't let the $2 price fool you though, because they demand that you also invest in a good source on amp for them to really sound their best. Don't expect to get them near their full potential without spending another $400 on a decent DAC and AMP, plus $50-$75 in decent cables.

Surely they went overboard with the included extras though. I'd have much rather they shipped with just the single set of pads, and used the money saved on the second set towards upgrading the source/transport as you mentioned.

Surely they went overboard with the included extras though. I'd have much rather they shipped with just the single set of pads, and used the money saved on the second set towards upgrading the source/transport as you mentioned.

Honestly at this level I would be disappointed if they didn't come with extra pads. I expect it at this price.

And it's a good thing they included a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter. I mean who really is going to use these on anything other than high quality 1/4" jack from a dedicated headphone amplifier?

AGH... umm, the NFB-11.32 does NOT have an analog in, so you can't hook it up to the soundcard's headphone jack or anything that's not digital. That is why I specifically mentioned that if you need an analog in, you need the Compass 2, or SA-31 instead.

Find out which soundcard allows Dolby Headphone through the digital out. I think Purple Angel knows.

I wanna know too for future reference.

I looked around some more and found this page.The dude there says you can do DH over the SPDIF out on the DG/DGX so it should be fine. I'll pick one up next week and do some testing to be sure.

How does anyone else feel about the sennheiser hd558s for gaming? I am only in stereo right now till I have money for a mix amp, but the clarity and positioning between them and my turtle beaches is basically night and day, it is amazing.

Should be pretty solid, I've seen a lot of people recommend one particular mod to improve clarity (removing some tape/felt that makes it sound closer to the 598) but I've only heard them stock, YMMV. I've seen the 558 as low as $100 on Amazon (used, but that often includes barely touched returns), I think they'd be hard to beat at that price or anything approaching it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murder Mike

I looked around some more and found this page.The dude there says you can do DH over the SPDIF out on the DG/DGX so it should be fine. I'll pick one up next week and do some testing to be sure.

Huh, be sure to let us know how it works out. I think I actually remember reading of other issues with SPDIF out (related to gaming and surround speaker setups), but I had no clue about DH. I'd give it a shot on my STX but the thought of moving the PC or receiver is ugh, and it might very well work differently anyway.Edited by Impulse - 1/22/13 at 8:18pm

How does anyone else feel about the sennheiser hd558s for gaming? I am only in stereo right now till I have money for a mix amp, but the clarity and positioning between them and my turtle beaches is basically night and day, it is amazing.

I think Mad reviewed them in his guide, first page. At any rate he has repeatedly posted that he preferred them over the HD598, I think because the model you have sounded more balanced or bassy.

To your second question, HDMI or optical to the receiver with your console sending 5.1 audio, and it will emulate surround sound for headphones like a mixamp would. Most brands have some sort of surround virtualization processing for headphones, but Dolby Headphone brand processing is really rare now, you're most likely to find it on Maranatz or old receivers.
You have to enable a mic separately though. Are you using an Xbox or PS3? For Xbox, you go to the guide, preferences, voice, select to play chat through "speakers," then chat audio will play through your headphones and you can just plug a mic into the controller's headphone port. I imagine the PS3 process is similar, except you plug in a USB mic. Do ps3 gamers even like talking to eachother? I rarely see anyone in Xbox game chat anymore unless they are trash talking or they left their Kinect mic in.Edited by Evshrug - 1/22/13 at 8:24pm

I think Mad reviewed them in his guide, first page. At any rate he has repeatedly posted that he preferred them over the HD598, I think because the model you have sounded more balanced or bassy.

Nah, in the first page he reviewed the hd598. Sometimes though, for competitive gaming they can be a bit bassy, but that is easily fixed with a little eq. I just can't wait to get surround sound, but the college life is hard for an audiophile : /

Originally Posted by burritoboy9984
Nameless, one question about your lambdas. How is the sound isolation on them. I tried using my electrets for gaming, but my mic picks up almost every sound, lol.

-Erik

Isolation? What isolation?

That said, I don't seem to have any issues with voice-chatting with people while using open-back headphones like the Lambda. At the very least, I'm not getting any echo complaints from who I'm talking to.

It may be because I'm using a cheap desk mic in the meantime, and not a clip-on mic or a ModMic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Impulse
Magnolia Best Buys actually stock higher end Sennheiser, AKG, AT, etc stuff. Shame there's none near me, regular Best Buys have some low end Senn stuff but it's mostly Bose, Beats, Skullcandy, and the like (tho SC now has some decent stuff); Koss, Aiaiai, Philips, and Pioneer too tho they don't get the prominent shelf displays that the first three do.

Shopping for higher end full size headphones if you don't live in a big city is just a PITA... I bought my Beyers almost blindly because any high end stuff I've tested was basically what friends or family had, so few points of comparison. Not like there's any meets or show I can drive to in this island. At least the M-80 I got to try at a Rat Shack, portable hp are easier to come by.

I hate buying stuff from Amazon just to try it as a a lot of people seem to do, despite their liberal return policy, so if I get something to try it's usually with the intention of gifting it later or selling it (if not keeping it), unless it's just awful.

Magnolia Best Buys? Never heard of that store variant. Doesn't help that I live about an hour or two's worth of driving northeast from Atlanta, in a city that gets mistaken for another state's big city by name and doesn't show up on most maps unless you zoom in real close.

Buying blindly is indeed very risky with something like headphones, where you won't know if you'll like the sound signature or the comfort/fit without first-hand experience...but at least for me, it paid off with that SR-Lambda, big time. (On the flip side, it didn't pay off nearly as much with the SR-202. Just goes to show how even similar-looking headphones don't sound similar at all.)

Yeah, that's what they call their Best Buys that stock high end home theater gear (and headphones), they've got a landing page for looking them up specifically etc. Apparently they're fairly common in urban areas (or Orlando has an abnormal amount of them when I last looked), tho I don't remember ever seeing one (let alone being in one) when I've visited friends and family stateside.

I've been satisfied with my DT 880 despite going in blind, but I've got that itch to buy something different to try and A/B it directly on my own gear y'know.

Nah, in the first page he reviewed the hd598. Sometimes though, for competitive gaming they can be a bit bassy, but that is easily fixed with a little eq. I just can't wait to get surround sound, but the college life is hard for an audiophile : /

If you want surround on the cheap, I know two options. You can get a used Turtle Beach DSS (the first one uses Dolby Headphone) for about $35 used on eBay, it works ok but has a bit of background hiss. Option two is the Recon3D USB processor, which is what I use. It uses THX TruStudio Pro from Creative's sound blaster PC cards instead of DH, has no discernible background hiss, an adapter/extension cable to use any 3.5mm mic (like a $2 lapel mic) or headset, adjustable sound settings, and also connects to a PC through USB to act as an external sound card. I like the THX processing better than DH, but Mad prefers DH, and NamelessPFG prefers CMSS-3D; Your Milage May Vary. They usually sell for $90, but NamlessPFG is selling his for $70.

If you want surround on the cheap, I know two options. You can get a used Turtle Beach DSS (the first one uses Dolby Headphone) for about $35 used on eBay, it works ok but has a bit of background hiss. Option two is the Recon3D USB processor, which is what I use. It uses THX TruStudio Pro from Creative's sound blaster PC cards instead of DH, has no discernible background hiss, an adapter/extension cable to use any 3.5mm mic (like a $2 lapel mic) or headset, adjustable sound settings, and also connects to a PC through USB to act as an external sound card. I like the THX processing better than DH, but Mad prefers DH, and NamelessPFG prefers CMSS-3D; Your Milage May Vary. They usually sell for $90, but NamlessPFG is selling his for $70.

Here's mine, I use it with my Mac & Xbox 360:

So many decisions! lol I shouldve known what I was getting myself into with this headphone addiction. But if anyone wants mod work or cables made in trade for any mixamps let me know! And I found the turtle beach for 25 on ebay. Is it worth it for now until I get a more expensive one?

That said, I don't seem to have any issues with voice-chatting with people while using open-back headphones like the Lambda. At the very least, I'm not getting any echo complaints from who I'm talking to. It may be because I'm using a cheap desk mic in the meantime, and not a clip-on mic or a ModMic.

Magnolia Best Buys? Never heard of that store variant. Doesn't help that I live about an hour or two's worth of driving northeast from Atlanta, in a city that gets mistaken for another state's big city by name and doesn't show up on most maps unless you zoom in real close.

Buying blindly is indeed very risky with something like headphones, where you won't know if you'll like the sound signature or the comfort/fit without first-hand experience...but at least for me, it paid off with that SR-Lambda, big time. (On the flip side, it didn't pay off nearly as much with the SR-202. Just goes to show how even similar-looking headphones don't sound similar at all.)

Can you use USB mics with PS3 consoles?
Big Best Buys have a Magnolia section in them, in the back by the TVs. It's walled off with their more expensive loudspeakers setup inside for demoing. The one near me (south hills Pittsburgh) has an expanded headphone section next to them, with 3 audiophile headphones: ATH-A900x, Senn HD 558, and AKG K550. Still not the biggest high-end selection and the employees won't let you demo them without buying first, but more than most stores. V-MODA's are strangely absent, though a few models are at RadioShack (and some nitwit broke them, dunno why you would do that. Like programming viruses just to mess up someone's day, I guess).

Can a receiver like this be used instead of say an astro mix amp to get dolby to your headphones? And if so, how would using a mic work?

Depends on the system. For Xbox you can use the steelseries "puck" adapter for the mic in on the controller, or simply any mic with a 2.5mm connection. For PS3 a simple usb type sound card (with an input jack) has been used.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evshrug

Can you use USB mics with PS3 consoles?
.

Probably depends on the drivers for each specific mic. A simple (cheap) usb mic like the one that comes with rockband will work for chat, but I'm not too sure about more complicated/expensive ones. It probably more or less depends on if the PS3 will recognize the device more than anything else.Edited by ruuku - 1/22/13 at 9:06pm